Milton Sports Hall of Fame Holds its Second Annual Induction

The Milton Sports Hall of Fame grew by five new members on November 19th. It was a packed house that cheered two inductees into the builder, and athlete (athlete, and veteran athlete) categories, as well as one in the team category.

“For those of you who were with us last year, as you can see we have already outgrown the Hall that we were in,” Chair Joe Yaworski told the crowd. The 2017 ceremony was held in the gym at the Milton Sports Centre, down the hall from a banquet room.

Ceremonies began with the inductees being piped in along a red carpet. Videos were played for each inductee, followed by speeches made by the inductee themselves, or a representative. Peter McDuffie led off the speeches first telling of a career as a goaltender spent split between the St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers, Kansas City Scouts, and Detroit Red Wings, including several encounters with Bobby Orr.

Enio Sclisizzi was the first professional hockey player from Milton. He played 81 regular, and playoff games on the left wing with the Detroit Red Wings. His family including daughter Erin represented him. He was inducted into the veteran athlete category. “This reminds me of all the beauty that I remember of Milton,” she said.

Cliff Houston was honoured for his contributions to Hockey, baseball, and Tennis. He was also 2016 inductee Scott Hogarth’s great-uncle. “We will be forever tied together through the Milton Sports Hall of Fame,” Hogarth said of the honour. Bruce Hood was the other inductee into the builder category. Hood is known for officiating at over 1,000 regular season hockey games, and 157 playoff games. He was unable to attend due to an illness.

The E.C. Drury Spartans (1998-2010 era) wrestling team were the team inductee. Coach Larry Jaroslawski, known also as Mooch was in charge of the program for over 30 years. In 1998, the team began to hit its stride taking 13 medals overall at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) over the next 12 years. Speaking on the team’s behalf was Rory McDonell. His speech gave much of the credit to the Mooch, and his teammates. “Everyone buys into something bigger than themselves,” he said.

Hogarth ended with a speech welcoming the new inductees. “I know we the class of 2016 are all proud to share a spot in the Milton Sports Hall of Fame with these remarkable and well deserving 2017 inductees,” he said. For more information on the Milton Sports’ Hall of Fame visit the town’s website: www.milton.ca/sportshalloffamePhotos by: Denise Cooperwhite